We exploit a policy discontinuity at U.S. state borders to identify the effects of unemployment insurance policies on … unemployment. Our estimates imply that most of the persistent increase in unemployment during the Great Recession can be accounted … for by the unprecedented extensions of unemployment benefit eligibility. In contrast to the existing recent literature …

larger earnings fluctuations than employees and that they frequently transition into unemployment. Given that the self …-employed are not eligible to unemployment insurance, I analyze the provision of benefits targeted at these risks using a calibrated … heterogeneity. This exercise suggests that extending the current U.S. unemployment insurance scheme to the self-employed comes with …